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Tories fume after ex-official Sue Gray snubs investigation into Labour job

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:03 GMT

LONDON — Conservative MPs took aim at former senior civil servant Sue Gray after she declined to take part in a government probe into her controversial new job with the opposition Labour Party.The Cabinet Office launched an investigation earlier this year after Gray quit her role in the British civil service — which prizes its impartiality — in favor of becoming chief of staff to Labour Leader Keir Starmer.But, despite expectation she’d be criticized in an update from minster Oliver Dowden Tuesday, Dowden told MPs he was “unable at this stage to provide further information” on Gray’s leap to the opposition.And he said Gray had declined the chance to spell out whether she had any contact with the Labour leader while in office.Dowden said the probe into the circumstances surrounding Gray’s exit “involved interviewing relevant persons to establish further details on the contact between Ms Gray and the Leader of the Opposition.”And he added: “I can update the House that Ms Gray was give...

1 person hospitalized with severe burns after fire in Abington

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:03 GMT

One person was hospitalized with severe burns after a fire broke out at an Abington apartment early Wednesday morning.Fire Chief John Nuttall says the fire was contained to one unit in the multi-family home on North Avenue.Nuttall says the cause appears to be accidental. No additional information has been released. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

US Navy: Iran seizes oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:03 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the second-such capture by Tehran in recent days, the U.S. Navy said.The Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Niovi. It said Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized the ship.The Navy published pictures of a dozen Guard vessels surrounding the tanker. Those ships “forced the oil tanker to reverse course and head toward Iranian territorial waters off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran,” the Navy said.“Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability,” the 5th Fleet said in a statement. “Iran’s continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional waters are unwarranted, irresponsible and a present threat to maritime security and the global economy.”Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to the Guard, reported the paramilitary f...

Teenage boy kills 8 children, guard at school in Belgrade

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:03 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A teenage boy opened fire in a school in central Belgrade Wednesday, killing eight children and a school guard, police said. Six more children and a teacher were injured.Police identified the shooter by his initials, K.K. The statement said he was a student at the school and was school, born in 2009. He was arrested in the school yard, police said.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A teenage boy opened fire early Wednesday in a school in central Belgrade, causing injuries, Serbian police said. Media reported that one person was killed.Police said in a statement that they received a call about the shooting in the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school around 8:40 a.m. The suspect, a seventh grade student, was arrested, police said. The statement added that the boy apparently fired several shots from his father’s gun at a teacher, other students and the school guard.Serbian media have reported that the guar...

Germany raids Russian’s superyacht in sanctions probe

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:03 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities raided a luxury yacht belonging to a wealthy Russian businessman as part of a probe into possible breaches of Western sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, officials said Wednesday.Specialists from the German navy and federal and state police took part in the search of the superyacht at an undisclosed shipyard in northern Germany, Frankfurt prosecutors said in a statement.The ship belongs to a 67-year-old Russian businessman, whose name wasn’t released for privacy reasons, prosecutors said.Authorities are trying to determine whether the businessman tried to hide valuables on the yacht, which he is required to report under European Union sanctions imposed last year.The investigation is separate from a case against Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, whose luxury yacht was raided in Germany last year.The Associated Press

Colombia’s Petro begins visit to Spain to boost peace plan

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:03 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro begins a state visit to Spain on Wednesday to seek support for his peace plan for the South American country, and to discuss economic investment and migration policy.Spanish King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez greeted Petro in Madrid. He is scheduled to address lawmakers at Spain’s Parliament and to attend a state dinner hosted by the Spanish royals.Sánchez, Spain’s Socialist leader, is a backer of Petro, an ex-rebel who became Colombia’s first leftist president last year.One of the main topics on his agenda is his peace process with the National Liberation Army (ELN), a guerrilla organization still active after the dissolution of FARC, a group which spent decades pursuing rebellion. Last week, ELN militants killed nine Colombian soldiers in an attack, complicating efforts by Petro to negotiate a lasting peace.The Colombian leader seeks Spain’s full support for his plan, which he will likely explicitly obtain from Sán...

Report: Taliban interfering with NGO work in Afghanistan

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:03 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Taliban fighter fired his rifle into the air at a food distribution event in Afghanistan, an example of their harassment of nongovernmental groups operating in the country, a report said Wednesday.The Taliban last December barred Afghan women from working at NGOs allegedly because they weren’t wearing the hijab, or Islamic headscarf correctly, or observing gender segregation rules. In April, they said this ban extended to the U.N.It is being actively enforced by the country’s intelligence agency, which reports to the Taliban’s leadership in Kandahar, although their chief spokesman says there are no obstacles for U.N. operations in Afghanistan.The latest quarterly report from the watchdog for U.S. assistance to Afghanistan, SIGAR, cited examples of Taliban interference and harassment of NGOs, including the rifle incident.Organizations face security risks and harassment at Taliban checkpoints, unannounced Taliban visits to NGO offices, repeated requests for informat...

Anadolu Efes player Singleton hospitalized with chest pains

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:03 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — American basketball player Chris Singleton has been admitted to a hospital in Turkey after suffering chest pains, his Istanbul-based team said Wednesday.Anadolu Efes said the 33-year-old Singleton underwent a coronary angiography which was “clean.” The club said more detailed tests were being carried out.“Further tests on our player are continuing. He will be kept under observation during this period and developments (concerning his health) will be announced by our club,” Anadolu Efes said in a statement.On Saturday, Anadolu Efes teammate Bryant Dunston escaped unharmed from a traffic accident in Istanbul. The player’s vehicle was traveling close to a truck which got trapped as it passed beneath a bridge, with its container falling on top Dunston’s car.Dunston was not hurt but was taken to the hospital for observation.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsThe Associated Press

Huge fire rages at oil depot behind Russian lines

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:03 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A massive blaze broke out at an oil depot behind Russian lines, local officials said Wednesday, while the Kremlin’s forces used 26 Iranian-made drones in another nighttime attack on Ukraine as the war stretched into its 15th month.The oil depot erupted in flames in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, located east of the Russian-held Crimean Peninsula, according to Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev. He didn’t say what caused the fire, which was described as extremely difficult to put out. But some Russian media outlets said it was likely caused by a Ukrainian drone attack overnight. There was no official comment on that possibility.Local residents heard an explosion shortly before the fire erupted, Russian news site Baza said.Military analysts reckon Ukraine is targeting supply lines in the Russian rear as Kyiv gears up for a possible counteroffensive amid improving weather conditions and as it receives large amounts of weapons and ammunition from its West...

Belarus: Dissident journalist sentenced to 8 years in prison

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:32:03 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Belarus has convicted a dissident journalist who was removed from a commercial airplane that was forced to land in the country. Raman Pratasevich stood trial on charges of organizing unrest and plotting to seize power. The court sentenced him to eight years in prison on Wednesday.Pratasevich and his Russian girlfriend were arrested in May 2021 when their Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was ordered to land in the capital of Belarus, Minsk. Belarusian authorities said there was a bomb threat but later said no explosives were found on board. The incident elicited outrage in Western countries, with officials condemning it as tantamount to hijacking.Pratasevich ran a Telegram messaging app channel that was widely used by participants in mass protests against the disputed August 2020 election that gave authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office.The Associated Press